IMCC3 on a Budget
At the moment, there are no funds to provide travel grants for delegates to attend the meeting. With governmental budget cuts, there is little sponsorship money available for meetings. The organizers have planned the meeting to have the lowest possible registration fee—the registration fee reflects the exact cost of the holding meeting. (IMCC3 is being subsidized by the Society for Conservation Biology Marine Section budget to reduce costs).
However, there are ways you can cut costs for attending the IMCC meeting:
(a) Be an official SCB Marine Section member. There is a substantial discount on registration, and it allows you the opportunity of being a volunteer.
(b) Student and developing country participants get a registration discount.
(c) Register early. The later you register, the more expensive it gets. On-site registration is several hundred dollars more expensive than early registration.
(d) Be a volunteer. (This is only open to official SCB Marine Section members, as noted above.) In exchange for 8 hours of volunteer work (manning registration desks, helping moderators in meeting rooms or other tasks), you can get a 50% rebate on your registration fee. Developing country and student members gain priority for the volunteer slots that are available. Being a volunteer is also a great way to meet other people. Several highly efficient volunteers in the past have managed to obtain internships, grad school advisors and project partnerships through contacts they made while volunteering at IMCC.
(e) Stay in university or hostel accommodation. Low-cost dorm room accommodation is bookable via the University of Glasgow booking service. These rooms fill up fast, so you need to book them early. You will have approximately a 20- to 25-minute walk to the convention center from the university, but there is public transportation available. There are also many good hostels in the city.
(f) Sign up to the IMCC/SCB Marine Section student Facebook page and find a roommate. Many students have used Facebook to find someone to share a hotel room or flat with to help cut costs.
(g) Book your flight early, and on a Tuesday... online discount flight companies like Expedia, have cheaper flights available on Tuesdays. You can save yourself $300 or $400 or more just by doing this.
(h) The average U.S. graduate student salary is $26,000 (the average U.K. student bursary is £13,500-£16,000, which is $22,700 - $27,00). We recognize that there are many NGO salaries and postdoc stipends that are lower than that. If your pre-tax annual salary is equivalent or lower to the grad student stipends noted above, please notify our registration coordinator (LStrong@burkinc.com) who can give you permission to register for the lower graduate student rate.
*We are currently working to fundraise to make available some travel reimbursements for delegates from developing countries. Check the website in the coming months for information on potential partial travel sponsorships for those representing developing nations.